“See, he brings his reward with him as he comes.”
“God decided in advance to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. This is what he wanted to do, and it gave him great pleasure. So we praise God for the glorious grace he has poured out on us who belong to his dear Son. He is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.”
Isaiah 40:10b; Ephesians 1:5, 7
encouragement for today
Earlier we saw from Isaiah 40 that the Messiah will “bring his reward as he comes.” What is his reward? We are—the children he has redeemed by his blood. The Father’s desire was to adopt us into his own family, and it gave him great pleasure to have Jesus, his Son, do this for him. This plan was born of love from beginning to end—love from the Father to the Son and to his adopted children, love from the Son to the Father as he comes with his reward and presents us to the Father.
—Diane Eble, author of Abundant Gifts: A Daybook of Grace-Filled Devotions
March 6, 2010
I just realized that last week, on Thursday, was my first time to be alone at home… like really alone. No kids. No husband. Just me, myself and I. It’s different when sometimes, I’m at home alone but with kids. Mom-in-law kept asking my husband whether I was okay being alone at home.
My house has alarm system. But somehow, we don’t really use it. The button was installed in our room so if we turn it on, it makes some unnecessary noise. I wonder why the owner of this house put it there, right on top of the bed’s head board. Now we can’t do anything about it. And we don’t have a manual on how to operate it.
Anyways, I was considering on searching online about some home security system, hoping to find the manual for our system but bumped into ADT instead. ADT Security System sounds familiar to me as most of the houses that hosted us while we were in America used ADT Security. Now that I have read about it online, no wonder a lot of people are using it. I have read that ADT has fast response. They offer an affordable 24-hour monitoring, and the best of all, easy to use home system. I kind of like the latter because the reason why we don’t really turn our security alarm on is because it’s a bit hard to operate.
March 4, 2010
“Hezekiah was delighted with the Babylonian envoys and showed them everything in his treasure-houses—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the aromatic oils. He also took them to see his armory and showed them everything in his royal treasuries! There was nothing in his palace or kingdom that Hezekiah did not show them.
“Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, ‘Listen to this message from the LORD of Heaven’s Armies: “The time is coming when everything in your palace—all the treasures stored up by your ancestors until now—will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left,” says the LORD. “Some of your very own sons will be taken away into exile. They will become eunuchs who will serve in the palace of Babylon’s king.”‘
“Then Hezekiah said to Isaiah, ‘This message you have given me from the LORD is good.’ For the king was thinking, ‘At least there will be peace and security during my lifetime.’”
Isaiah 39: 2, 5–8
encouragement for today
God in his mercy spared Hezekiah’s life, but because Hezekiah’s pride continued, the consequences of his showing the Babylonian visitors his treasures would mean disaster for his descendants. Notice Hezekiah’s response to Isaiah’s message: outward assent but inward selfishness. He didn’t care about his descendants but cared only for his personal peace and security. This attitude permeates our world too. It’s the perfect example of how the sinful nature works: I only care abut myself and my own personal peace and security and do not care about the consequences of my actions or decisions for those who come after me.
—Diane Eble, author of Abundant Gifts: A Daybook of Grace-Filled Devotions
March 2, 2010
“It doesn’t matter whether we have been circumcised or not. What counts is whether we have been transformed into a new creation. May God’s peace and mercy be upon all who live by this principle; they are the new people of God.”
Galatians 6:15–16
encouragement for today
This is the bottom line in the Christian faith: Are we being changed into new and different people? Mercy and peace characterize people who truly trust Christ alone and are being transformed to be like Jesus. This is the measure of your spiritual growth: Are you continually being changed from the inside out?
—Diane Eble, author of Abundant Gifts: A Daybook of Grace-Filled Devotions
February 25, 2010
What did you guys get from your partners for a Valetines gift? Did you getloose diamonds, a bunch of flowers, a box of chocolates? I had none of those. But the hubby gave me for a spa. I had the budget. But since I was with friends, I didn’t go for a spa. Lame. But really… I didn’t wanna enjoy and get my friends drooling over me having a spa. That would not look good.
I went for hair treatment and Sizzler’s instead.
February 25, 2010
I wonder what’s on clearance sale nowadays? It’s been a long time since I have gone window shopping if not shopping. I wonder if Voir have a clearance sale again? I love the quality of materials in Voir. But usually, I would go to Subang Parade because I would know which clothes were available the previous month that was expensive and I usually find it on clearance sale the next month. I so love shopping for clothes there. Hope we have enough time to do that this weekend.
So the list goes like this:
1. movie
2. marks and spencers in Sunway Pyramid
3. Drop by British India
4. Voir at Subang Parade
Hmmm… do we even have enough time to do all those? Keeping my fingers crossed.
February 25, 2010
I just realized it’s already 2 o’clock in the morning. I was going to burn the candlelight and finish my work but FB and YM chat got in the way. Now I am far behind my goal. Sheeshh… Anyways, since it’s already this late… or early for the next day, might as well stay up some more. Nevermind if I get a chin acne. I am also not sleepy. I just had my wine and pringles. Yeah, interesting combo, hey. But the pringles seem better with wine. I could go on and on writing about what I do… but I really need to stop and go one with my work. Ciao!
February 25, 2010
My kids and hubby had gone to Banting. Mom-in-law missed the kids so much she asked whether we could send the kids there so she can spend time with them. So we’re gonna be without kids for the weekend. Hubby is driving back tomorrow. And so we plan to go out for a movie on weekend. Just reminds me to check what movies are there showing this week. Hopefully there’s Avatar, not the 3D version.
What else is brewing on our weekend? Probably go to Sunway Pyramid and window shop at Marks and Spencer’s and scan the prices through their barcode scanner and see if I can afford anything I like. Usually, I buy their perfumes/colognes/lotion… or just about anything for women use.
Or maybe visit British India and see if they have clothes on sale. They always do. I usually buy those that are on sale. Gone are the days when I can just pick something I like and let hubby pay. Those were non-kids days. LOL.
February 25, 2010
Just now when I was surfing the net, I saw this Dallas auto repair . They actually repair cars like Chevrolet Silverado, Volvo, etc. I have read that they do a good brake job. With Repair Pal, they would give you independent and unbiased repair estimates, user ratings and reviews, plus advice you can’t get anywhere else.
Just reminds me of when we were on our way to Thailand, we discovered a punctured tire. Good thing was, we were on a stop somewhere to get food. When we went back, that’s when we say the tire was flat. The petrol station was nearby but we couldn’t find a repair shop.
So the hubby drove to the station and attempted to pump air into the flat tire to no avail. I was wishing then that repair shop was just nearby. When the hubby finally pumped air (that’s after two hours), we drove to the nearest repair shop. We paid a bomb just to change tires. It’s a hard lesson learned.
February 25, 2010
Be safe. Be careful. We always hear these words from our friends and family. We always wanna be safe. We pray to be safe in fact. My daughter has developed this habit of praying that her grandparents will not die. It’s quite funny that she could pray something like that at age 3.
Anyways, we always like to feel safe. We install safety features in our houses. We use safety glasses to protect our eyes, we use safety belt when we drive. There are just too many safety things we do.
But I say thins, in order to ensure our safety… we put our trust in the Lord. How about that?
February 24, 2010
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